Preparing hydrocarbon products



sept. 3, 1929. I F Af HOWARD 1,727,303

PREPARING HYDROGARBON PRODUCTS Filed April 25, 1924 TRlPPlNG STI LL. D

WW h4 l ko) E P S x0 v/q Minox n FT 21M( A How 5WG1 CINQ-urlA Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK A. HOWARD, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD OIL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PREPARING HYDROCARBON PRODUCTS.

Application filed April 25,

This invention relates to the art of preparing hydrocarbon products, and more'particularly hydrocarbons having comparatively low boiling points. The invention will be 4understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which represents schematically one arrangement of apparatus which may ibe used.

y In proceeding in accordance with my invention a as from which it is desired to sep'- arate con ensible constituents, as f or exam- -ple a natural gas or a renery tail-gas, is brought into contact with an absorber meristruum in an absorber tower 1, a compressor 2 being used if higher compression of the gas is desired before admission to the tower. They its absorbed hydrocarbons may conveniently l 3o be passed -to the still directly or by introducing it into the column 4a. The column 4 may contain bales or an arrangement for exosin llarge surfaces to the vapors and liquid roug t together therein. The absorbed constituents pass oil as vapor from the tower of the still to a condenser 5 which 1s maintained under pressure. The stripped absorber menstruum is returned from the strip-l ping stil14 through a coolei` 6, to be introduced into the top of the absorber to again take vup constituents from the gas.

From the condenser 5 the condensate and uncondensed vapors pass to a separator 7, from'which the condensate goes through a cooler 8 to a storage tank 9. The condenser 5 is maintained at such a temperature as to condense out substant' lly all of the heavier constituents collecte -by the absorber oil without condensing any large proportion of the intermediate constituents, and as a cooled product would have a vrelatively low vapor tension, for example around 2 lbs. at normal temperatures. The uncondensed vapors and gases passing on from the-condenser 5 are then compressed by a compressor 10 to a 1924. Serial No. 708,926.

relatively high pressure,'for example 200 lbs. and are introduced into afsuitable dephle mator or rectifying apparatus 11 preferably in the form of a tower cooled at'the top and affording washirilr contact between vapors and condensing ractions, so as to make a separation such that the gas passing out at 12 to the line will contain only small quantities, if any, of the intermediate hydrocarbons and substantially all of the lighter constitu ents, while the product drawn o from the bottom at 13 into the storage tank 14 is made up principally of intermediate hydrocarbons such as butane and pentane, and corresponds in general to the commercial products knownas liquefied gases, having a relatively high vapor tension, for instance 2025 lbs. at normal temperatures.

The cooling required in the dephlegmator 11 can be provided in any suitable manner,

.for instance by permitting a portion of the compressed hydrocarbons from the compressor 10 to ex land in refrigeration coils 16 in the top o the dephleginator tower, to be thence turned back to the compressor if desired. The absorber oil can be similarly cooled as shown by expansion line 15 if desired.

By mixing in suitable proportions the li ueied product from the tank 14 with the con ensate from tank 9 a product may be obtainedv having any desired intermediate vapor tension, to comply with shipping or market requirements, etc. Such mixing should be carried out under a pressure ual to or exceeding the vapor pressure of t e product in the tank 14, to avoid losses during the mixing process.

I claim:

l. The improvement in the art of preparing hydrocarbon products from hydrocarbons principally in the vapor phase, separated from hydrocarbon gas by absorption which comprises condensing out a fraction having a relatively low vapor tension, cooling said fraction out of contact with the uncondensed vapors and gases, compressing the said un# condensed vapors and ases and subjecting them to a rectifying action to obtain a liquefied roduct of relative] high vapor tension, and finally mixing said liquefied product with the aforesaid fraction having a relatively low vapor tension. v i

2. The improvement in the art of preparing hydrocarbon products which comprises 110 passing condensahle constituents of natural gas through a. condensing zone, reducing the temperature therein to condense a liquid phase consisting principally of constituents 5 of higher boiling point than bute-ne and pentane, cooling seid liquid phase out of Contact with the uncondensed vapors and gases, comn pressing uncondensed constituents, subjecting them to a rectitying action to 'obte-in a 10 iiqueiicd product of relatively high vapor tensioncnd blending the li uid phase irst mentioned with the product di relatively high vapor tension to produce s, gasoline of intermediate volatility.

15 3. The improvement in the art of prepar- 

